Wisconsin Recall Election: Scott Walker Wins

6/5/12 11:02 AM EDT

Get the latest breaking news on the Wisconsin Recall Election right here. We'll be updating this page throughout the day with highlights of all of POLITICO's coverage. Check out the live blog below for the latest developments on the Wisconsin Recall Election. Update: That wraps up our live blog for the evening. For the latest on the recall, visit our Wisconsin page.

Auto refresh every 60 seconds: disabled.JavaScript must be enabled to use this feature. Click here for instructions on enabling JavaScript.

11:45 PM - Obama campaign: 'Strong message' sent to Walker

6/5/12 11:45 PM EDT

The Obama campaign — which has largely kept President Obama himself out of the Wisconsin recall election — puts out a statement saying that a message had been sent to Gov. Scott Walker, despite his win.

"While tonight's outcome was not what we had hoped for – no one can dispute the strong message sent to Governor Walker. Hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites from all walks of life took a stand against the politics of division and against the flood of secret and corporate money spent on behalf of Scott Walker, which amounted to a massive spending gap of more than $31 million to $4 million," Tripp Wellde, campaign state director, said in a statement.

11:12 PM - Walker goes for conciliation

6/5/12 11:12 PM EDT

The Wisconsin governor could be taking a pretty ostentatious victory lap right now, but in the first statement issued by his campaign on the recall election, Scott Walker goes for a different tone:

“Bringing our state together will take some time, but I hope to start right away,” Governor Walker said. “It is time to put our differences aside and figure out ways that we can move Wisconsin forward.”

6/5/12 10:29 PM EDT

10:22 PM - Wisconsin recall: Scott Walker wins

6/5/12 10:22 PM EDT

A two-year saga of recall elections, public demonstrations, litigation and legislative walkouts drew to a finish Tuesday as Wisconsin voters turned out in massive numbers and voted to keep Republican Gov. Scott Walker in office.

The Associated Press declared Walker the winner shortly after 10 p.m. The television networks initially reported that the final wave of exit polling showed the race was too close to call, with CBS News characterizing Walker and his Democratic challenger, Tom Barrett, as "neck and neck."
Read more from Alexander Burns

9:25 PM - Dems bid to keep recall election polls open

6/5/12 9:25 PM EDT

A Democratic group is making a public plea to Milwaukee city officials to keep polls open past 8 p.m. due to a lack of voter registration forms. A spokesperson for Wisconsin Jobs Now tells POLITICO the group has identified about 15 precincts that have run out of forms, which is preventing new voters from casting ballots.

6/5/12 8:00 PM EDT

7:23 PM - 119 percent turnout? Not exactly

6/5/12 7:23 PM EDT

Twitter has been abuzz with reports of a projected 119 percent turnout in Madison tonight. Charlie Mahtesian writes that's not quite the case -- but it's still pretty high:

It’s possible it looked like 119% percent at one time; the clerk's office told me that turnout numbers are extrapolated by looking at actual turnout at various intervals during the day. As of 4:00 pm Central, 48% of registered voters had actually turned out. The 96% figure is calculated by doubling that figure at the close of polls at 8:00 pm.

6:35 PM - An Obama bright spot?

6/5/12 6:35 PM EDT

These results are preliminary so it remains to be seen if that result will hold in final exit poll results later tonight. If so, it might provide Obama forces with pushback should Walker, the incumbent Republican, prevail in the recall election against Democratic candidate Tom Barrett, the mayor of Milwaukee.

6:02 PM - Advantage: Walker (says Bill Clinton)

6/5/12 6:02 PM EDT

The 42nd president acknowledges the incumbent has an edge in tonight's recall race:

“The advantage probably goes to Walker because he’s got so much money,” Clinton said in an interview with CNBC that aired just hours before polls closed in the Badger State. “A lot of money’s coming from out of state, including some from the unions to support Barrett, but not nearly as much as Walker has received. It’s going to be a close and interesting race.”

5:53 PM - High turnout on the horizon

6/5/12 5:53 PM EDT

Alexander Burns kicks off the evening with a look at how a two-year battle is coming to a head tonight with massive turnout in Wisconsin.

Republicans optimism about the recall election has grown in recent weeks thanks to a barrage of TV ads casting Walker’s challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, as a free-spending, tax-raising career politician. The final polls — both public and internal campaign surveys — showed a tight race with a small lead for Walker.

But the unprecedented nature of the gubernatorial recall election — it is the first in Wisconsin, and only the third in U.S. history – casts a level of doubt on pollsters’ ability to predict turnout ahead of the contest. Complicating matters further is Wisconsin’s law allowing same-day voter registration, which adds additional uncertainty to the electorate.

Tom has spent his career fighting for economic security and fairness for middle-class families. He's been a dedicated congressman and a great mayor, and he would make an outstanding governor for Wisconsin.

Polls are open from now until 8:00 p.m. If you're not registered yet, you can register to vote at your polling place.

Find your polling place, cast your vote, and forward this email to your friends and family so you can be sure they turn out today, too:

2:47 PM - The cringe-worthy recall recount scenario

6/5/12 2:47 PM EDT

The idea that the recall might still be unsettled at the end of the evening, or that it might go to overtime, is one that’s largely been advanced in recent days by Democrats — they have an obvious interest in countering turnout-depressing polling suggesting that GOP Gov. Scott Walker has the race in the bag.

2:09 PM - Reports: Robo-calls lying to Wisconsin voters

6/5/12 2:09 PM EDT

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said his campaign is contacting Wisconsin residents to counter reports of a robo-call that says anyone who signed a petition to recall Gov. Scott Walker doesn’t have to vote in Tuesday’s election.

Barrett, the Democrat challenging the Republican governor, said he has recorded a robo-call of his own telling people that signing a petition wasn’t enough and that they do have to cast a ballot, WisPolitics.com reported. There have been a number of reports of Wisconsin residents receiving calls saying that their signature on the recall petition counts as their vote.

11:49 AM - Nail-biting finish for Wisconsin recall

6/5/12 11:49 AM EDT

Virtually every public and private poll since February — including three released Monday — has shown GOP Gov. Scott Walker ahead of Democrat Tom Barrett in this historic Wisconsin recall campaign.Still, Scott Walker entered Election Day only a marginal favorite after a late aggressive push by Democrats.

Walker has benefited from a gaping financial advantage, unwavering support from national Republicans, a brief fissure between organized labor and traditional Democrats and economic statistics that appear to bolster the incumbent’s case that the state is on the rebound.

11:28 AM - Wisconsin Dems sidestep labor debate in recall

6/5/12 11:28 AM EDT

The bitter battle over union rights in Wisconsin sent masses of angry protesters flooding into the streets, placed the state at the center of a national debate over Big Labor’s power and sparked the historic recall to topple GOP Gov. Scott Walker.But you’d hardly know it from the campaign to replace him.

On the eve of the June 5 recall election, the issue of collective bargaining has become just a footnote in the hard-fought battle for Wisconsin. Democrats gloss over the issue in campaign speeches, political advertisements and debates in favor of zeroing in on Walker’s tactics. Democrats and labor groups run separate field operations. And the party’s nominee, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, wears the fact that he wasn’t labor’s top choice for the ticket as a badge of honor.